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11/22/2024 04:16:52 am

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2 Dinosaur Fossils Unearthed in Yunnan, China

180m-year-old dinosaur fossils discovered in Southwest of China

(Photo : Getty Images) Both of the dinosaurs are said to have long necks and ate plants for nutrition.

Two dinosaur vestiges from the Jurassic Period have been discovered in the Yunnan Province, China in November, according to Xinhua.

The two fossils were uncovered during the construction of a road in Yufeng County, Chuxiongyi Autonomous Province, Yunnan. The fossils have been identified as that of a Lufengosaurus Magnus and Lufengosaurus Huenei by the Institute of Vertebrae Paleontology.

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These dinosaurs were deemed to have roamed the planet approximately 180 million years ago.

Wang Tao, the director of Department of Geological Heritage Protection, explained the characteristics of Lufengosaurus Magnus, which has complete hind legs, backbones that comprise 38 vertebrae and a height estimated to be more than nine meters long (30 feet).

The Lufengosaurus Huenei was found 500 meters away from the other fossil.  The discovered structure of the fossil consists of two preserved shanks and five backbone vertebrae.

Both of the dinosaurs are said to have long necks and ate plants for nutrition.

These species were first discovered in the same province by Yang Zhongjian, a Chinese paleontologist in 1938. Zhongjian was accompanied by geologist Bien Meinan.

Lufengosaurus Huenei was the first species discovered by Yang. Lufengosaurus was derived from the Lufeng, the dinosaurs' place of discovery.

Huenei was chosen as the specific name of the dinosaur in honor of Friedrich Von Huene, a German paleontologist and Yang's former mentor.

In 1958, Lufengosaurus was declared to be the first complete skeleton mounted in China, according to GB Times.

In 2013, the Lufengosaurus' embryo, or the structure of the living animal prior to hatching, was also discovered in the Yunnan province of China.

A team also unearthed more than 200 bones, revealed to be from the dinosaur's different stages of development inside the egg.

"We will continue in situ conservation once we have built a museum at the excavation site," said Wang, in an interview with Xinhua.

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